3D printing drives Team GB’s cycling success

Team GB secured 65 medals at the Games, including 11 in cycling, with eight earned on the track. To support the athletes in their quest for victory, British Cycling required a bike that excelled in speed, balance, and aerodynamics, making advanced design and manufacturing techniques, including metal additive manufacturing (3D printing), essential to maximising Team GB’s medal count.

The 2024 Olympics proved particularly triumphant for Team GB’s track cyclists. A standout moment was when Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell, and Emma Finucane captured gold in the women’s team sprint, breaking the world record for the third time in one day after an incredible comeback. The success of Team GB’s cyclists is backed by British Cycling, the national governing body for the sport in Great Britain. This organisation provides riders across various disciplines – BMX, mountain biking, road, and track cycling – with the resources to refine their skills and reach their full potential. The equipment and apparel development team at British Cycling continually pushes the boundaries of innovation to create state-of-the-art bikes for the nation’s top cyclists.

Following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, British Cycling sought to expand its collaboration with Lotus Engineering, Renishaw, and Hope Technology to develop and manufacture a new bike for the 2024 Games. However, delays caused by COVID-19 and the compressed timeline for the 2024 Olympics presented significant challenges in delivering an optimised bike on schedule.

“The carbon fibre parts produced using traditional machining methods for the Tokyo bike met all the requirements we had, but time constraints for the Paris bike meant that this method was no longer viable for some bespoke parts,” explained Dr Oliver Caddy, Lead Project Engineer at British Cycling. “After seeing the benefits of AM and what it helped us achieve on the Tokyo bike, we knew it could be a manufacturing method to explore further.”

Ben Collins, Lead Additive Manufacturing Applications Engineer at Renishaw, added: “After determining that the British Cycling team could not produce core crank and seat posts components in carbon fibre within the shorter time frame required, we began creating some additively manufactured prototypes in plastic.

“Additive manufacturing enabled us to create complex geometries that removed any unnecessary weight while delivering the strength required for the athletes to reach racing speed. To develop a more aerodynamic seat post, engineers designed more free-form geometries to hollow out the part as much as possible, something that would not be achievable using traditional methods.

“We are delighted for British Cycling on another successful Olympic Games and to be able to play a part in this. It’s a fantastic achievement and a great showcase of the benefits of additive manufacturing.”

Through its partnership with Renishaw, British Cycling introduced an aerodynamic seat post with a hollow centre and a backward-leaning design, enabling airflow through the bike’s centre. Additive manufacturing allowed for the rapid production of custom titanium seat posts tailored to each rider’s exact specifications. Throughout the project, Renishaw produced over 1,000 components, supporting 32 track bikes and their spares.

The innovative bike was used by Great Britain’s track cyclists during the track cycling events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, held from 5th to 11th August at the National Velodrome.